"Flat selling" gets creative

Lodha Developers, somehow always came across as another DLF in the making. Unbridled ambition and mopping up land, one after the other in Mumbai at jaw dropping prices, it does nto surprise one that the group is saddled with debt and a horde of disgruntled flat owners, waiting and continuing to wait for the delivery of their flats.

Its debt currently stands at somewhere around Rs,13,000 crore but its land bank is strong at 5500 acres in Mumbai. Adding to its woes, its bonds were rated ‘junk’ last year and not surprisingly, its bond yields have jumped up 157 bps in the last one year – higher the yield, lower is the price of the bond.

And despite all this, the way it advertises and spends money on its site offices and many other “lures” is mind boggling. Its World One at the old mill area, which Lodha prefers to call, “Upper Worli” has a site office which looks like a 5-star hotel lobby. The flats are designed by Giorgio Armani and you are served champagne and canapes.

And then it also has restarted Trump Tower – a JV between Lodha and Donald Trump. This is termed as “ultra luxurious” with flats costing over Rs.10 crore – it gets you a membership in Lodha’s private jet club. Its ad says, “Chauffeur driven cars are passé when you have a private jet at your disposal.”

Indeed adversity is the mother of invention – what creativity is trying to create a USP!